The Conference Semi Finals have been completed, and we have seen one rather large upset in the East, but I'll get to that in a bit, for now however, here is a quick recap of the Western Conference Semi Finals...

WEST CONFERENCE SEMI FINALS

The #1 seed Memphis Grizzlies took care of business knocking off the Nuggets in 5 Games and pretty much dominating the entire series.

OJ Mayo led the way for the #1 Seed Grizzlies as he averaged 21 points per game in the series. He also had a huge 40 point game in Game 5 to close out Denver.

This was thought to be the year that Oklahoma City could finally get over the hump and make it all the way to the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant is fresh off his 3rd scoring title in only his 6th year in the NBA. The Thunder have a great young, athletic Point Guard in Russell Westbrook and legit post defenders in Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. Great depth off the bench with the little spark plug Nate Robinson and the versatile Thabo Sefolosha. This team, on paper, is one of the most complete teams in the NBA and yet they didn't manage to win a single game in the Conference Semi's vs the LA Lakers.

As you can see by the stats listed above, Kobe Bryant is on an absolute mission right now. He is simply not allowing his team to lose. In the 4 Game sweep of the Thunder, Kobe average 36pts, 3.7reb, 7.2ast, 1.3stl...

During these playoffs vs Houston in the 1st round, and now vs OKC, Kobe has averaged 32.5pts, 6reb, 6ast per game.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS PREVIEW

The Western Conference Finals look to be a great matchup on paper. We've got the #1 seed Memphis Grizzlies vs the #3 seed LA Lakers. On paper is looks like the Lakers have more "star power" with players like Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest. The Grizzlies might be the most balanced and complete team in the NBA however. Lets take a look at both of their rosters head-to-head...

I think the Lakers have a much better front court, with Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, vs Troy Murphy and Marc Gasol for the Grizzlies. The backcourt of Conley, Mayo and Gay have the advantage over Lucas, Bryant and Artest and I feel like the benches are pretty much a wash for both teams.

The Key for the Lakers in this series is going to be how each of their "stars" plays. If Kobe Bryant continues to play like he played in the first two rounds, then the Lakers should be able to win the series. If Kobe isn't himself, or, he cools down a bit, they are going to have to lean on Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol and hope that they can impose their will on the Grizzlies' bigs in the paint.

For the Grizzlies, they have to figure out a way to slow down Kobe. They can't allow him to get off any shot he wants. OJ Mayo, and Rudy Gay are going to have to make it tough on him. Easier said than done, but, if they want to win the series, this is a must. If Kobe does go off, the Grizzlies can still win, but they are going to have to handle Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. They simply can't allow all three guys to dominate the series or it will be over quickly. If Troy Murphy and Marc Gasol can continue they solid play, and battle with Howard and Pau, then the Grizzlies will have a much better chance of winning the series...

Prediction

Lakers in 7 Games... I'm still not convinced that the Grizzlies have what it takes to go all the way. Even though they won 60 games in the regular season I'm still not sold on OJ Mayo or Rudy Gay being "that guy" that can carry you when things get tough. We all know, the Lakers have "that guy" that can get them a bucket at any given moment. Its the 6 time NBA Champion, 3 time NBA Fianls MVP Kobe Bryant.

[center]Season 3, 2015 Playoffs... I'm entering the NBA Finals, as soon as the Western Conference Finals wrap up between the Lakers and the Nuggets... Here's my post celebrating the Cavaliers victory in Game 5... Follow my Association here or click the link in my sig for more details / info about my association... Comments and Critics welcomed